Line Rental

on ‎04-01-201913:50

Hi, I have Virgin phone service which is being provided through a VOIP service via the modem. Why is Virgin charging £17 for the line rental? I have to pay for the line rental and all also unlimited call package when I can use a service called SIP GATE in which I would get a local number and only pay for the call package for £9.99 and no line rental.

If I pay line rental I expect to get a service in which I get a normal telephone socket and a service that's independent from the broadband service, so when the broadband goes down I can still make a make and receive calls. This is a stupid idea and it is not 21st century. How do I get this service removed because I am not paying line rental for a line I am not getting and I would like to transfer my number to SIP GATE?

Re: Line Rental

on ‎04-01-201914:25

Hi there davepeters772,

Thanks for your post.

The Line Rental charge is valid as we are still supplying you with a landline - the only difference is how it comes into your home.

21CV (VOIP) allows us to provide your landline via your broadband Hub but this does not impact you any differently to getting via a standard socket. We provide a service which allows you to continue using your landline if you ever have issues with the broadband which means that you wouldn't lose the telephone service during the downtime.

If you do not wish to take the landline service out with us, we can certainly take a look at your package and see if this is possible to have without the landline - we do not require our customers to have a landline to use our broadband unlike other providers.

If you wish to port your number to another provider, you would need to request this with your new provider first so they can request the number from us whilst it is still active. When they take the number from us, this will disconnect your landline with us - you can then contact us to check for any packages that best suit your needs and budget without the landline.

Re: Line Rental

on ‎05-01-201914:35

but you are not providing a line you are providing a service over an internet connection. If I took up a service for example VONAGE you do not pay them line rental just the charge for a call package. Previously with Virgin you got a phone socket and if the power in the house when off you could still use the phone socket to make calls, however if the power in the house went off it also takes down the modem and stops me making and receiving calls. It is a stupid service and puts people at risk in the event of an emergency! £17 is not justified and virgin are just ripping there customers off. I have lost countless times when I am in the middle of a call and the modem decides to reboot and dropping the call.

Because of this I am now considering moving back to SKY. If Virgin are going to provide a service using VOIP then you should not have to pay Line Rental as there is no line to maintain!!!

Re: Line Rental

whether they are providing a line in the old fashioned meaning or a service is not the issue - the issue is that they build a package price for the services you have

newer packages do not list the line rental as a separate cost afaik but the bill for a phone line and another service is just the same however its broken down

their package costing method is and has been a mystery to users for as long as its been around - bottom line is if you are happy with the total cost then dont try to work out how its made up - if you are not happy then you have choices

Re: Line Rental

on ‎05-01-201922:06

I too I’m not happy with the VoIP service, for some reason calls which I have blocked including withheld calls on the handset seem to get though still and caller display is active on the line. I can’t also use landline text messaging which my phone supports.

Whats worse is that Voip providers do not charge extra for calling features like Call waiting,Anonymous call baring and Call diversion whilst Virgin charges £2.25 for each one for the privilege.

Also £17 for line rental is a lot of money especially for a VoIP service. Why can’t Virgin be the first to scrap it and make fixed line phone services better value for money. Forget Vodafone, they claim to have scrapped line rental but the cost of Home phone and broadband is about £25 which is the same as other providers, it’s just blended in with the cost of broadband.

Re: Line Rental

on ‎09-01-201920:54

It's cheaper for VM to imnplement VoIP over HFC and FTTP instead of traditional landlines, and eventually there will be substantial savings when the circuit switched networked can be decommissioned. Charging a high line rental is a way of making more money, simple as that.

Re: Line Rental

on ‎14-01-201921:11

But they are not providing a line they are providing a service over an internet connection. So how can they justify charging £17 line rental??? When I paid BT line rental I was paying for a dedicated line that was powered and provided through a socket and if my modem went faulty I can still make a call! You also say build a package what package I have to pay £17 line rental then I have to pay for my unlimited call package which I think is £9 then I have to pay £2.75 for caller display so that's £28.75 on just a phone service.

But you are right I am not happy and my contract is coming to an end and I will be leaving to go with a service provider that will provide me a line and service for the fraction of the cost of virgin and just for people out there Virgin don't tell you they are providing a VOIP service so when you have a service like an intruder alarm or care line system that requires to be wired into a telephone socket this can not happen.

VIRGIN SCRAP YOU LINE RENTAL AND YOU MAY JUST RETAIN YOU CUSTOMERS!!!!

Re: Line Rental

It's cheaper for VM to imnplement VoIP over HFC and FTTP instead of traditional landlines, and eventually there will be substantial savings when the circuit switched networked can be decommissioned. Charging a high line rental is a way of making more money, simple as that.

The only thing VoIP cuts out is the wire from the customers premises to the local optical street node. The rest of the kit VM use to provide the phone service is still in use. This is why your phone service will still operate even when the Broadband service goes down.